If you are a prolific blogger, or even a “sometime” or infrequent blogger who includes images in your posts (which you should be doing), you might find your website slowing down a bit, or see your images taking longer and longer to load. The question to ask is … are you resizing and compressing your images before you upload them to WordPress?

From Instagram to websites and blogs, online users have come to expect vibrant images that add story and style to content. Here are some great tools to help breathe life into your dull images.

Piktochart: Infographics are an excellent way to share stats, data or tell a story within a long, thin image. Piktochart simplifies the process by offering premium templates and graphics and icons users can drag and drop into an infographic. This robust tool is not free, but still affordable at $29.00 per month. Looking for a free infographic tool? Easel.ly offers a dozen free templates to get you started.

Tagxedo: Looking for another way to add a fun, interesting and unique twist to image creation? Use Tagxedo to create a word cloud from web, social or blog content. Word clouds are not only interesting, they are a great way to present content in a new light.

Photovisi: Like the ever-popular photo editing site Picmonkey, Photovisi is another photo collage tool that’s really simple and easy to use. The benefit is that Photovisi doesn’t require users to set up an account to access this tool. Simply create the collage you desire and upload it to your computer.

Last week I shared why it was important and the benefits of using images in your social media. This week I’d like to share how to create those shareable images:

Pixlr: Pixlr combines image design and cool tools with photo editing and adjustment features. Pixlr now also has a Mobile Express option for both Android and Smartphone that has 600 effects, overlays, and borders to personalize any image. Pixlr and Pixlr Mobile Express are currently free.

PicMonkey:
Picmonkey is not only fun but it’s ridiculously easy to use as a way to add special effects, text, and borders to your images. PicMonkey has both a free and paid version.

ShareAsImage:
Sometimes a simple quote or tip on a colored background is all it takes to make an impact. ShareAsImage has a $2.99 lifetime use cost, a variety of fonts, the option to add your “source” or URL, and the ability to easily change background colors.

Keep Calm Generator: Ever seen those “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster images? Those are actually part of a free service called Keep Calm-o-matic. In just a few simple keystrokes you can create your own “Keep Calm” poster tailor-made for your industry.

FINAL NOTE: When creating images for Facebook remember its “hip to be square.” Images that are perfectly square (300×300 or 400×400) will look best on your Facebook Wall.